Hot Leads
by Lorie Ann London
Summary: Love them or hate them, One Life to Live's Blair and Natalie have a lot in common. What if these edgy heroines, too often cast aside to elevate the latest IT GIRL, became fast friends? What might these opinionated women have said about their storylines if they'd not been de-clawed and dressed down to make their rivals seem like the better choice? Find out in these mini-stories.
1. Chapter 1

HOT LEADS

Chapter One

Blair Manning sighed at her cell phone's ring. From her booth at the Llanview Diner she angled her head and peered out the picture window at the parking lot. Only four cars sat outside baking in the mid-summer Pennsylvania sun. Tea Delgado's black Ferrari was not one of them.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to make it today," Tea said the words Blair already knew. "Raincheck, okay?"

"No problem, Tea. But you're buying, ya hear?"

"If that's the case, I'll have to take you somewhere more upscale next time. I'll call you later."

Blair clicked off. Her first inclination had been to leave, but she had skipped breakfast that morning. Might as well grab a quick bite. Before she could decide between an omelet and the pancakes, someone caught her attention.

She watched as the redhead climbed out her shiny tan SUV and moved round to the passenger side. There she spoke to the small boy who had already climbed out despite the SUV's height. The woman bent down to straighten his light blue tee shirt. After running a hand through his thick brown hair, Natalie Banks took her son's hand and led him inside the diner.

Unthinkingly, she raised a hand when Natalie crossed the threshold.

Why had she done that? She knew this woman, but only slightly. It was amazing really. She'd married two of Natalie's uncles a half dozen times. Still she only knew her husband's niece in passing. Their children were cousins, but they had absolutely no relationship.

Natalie's clear blue eyes widened in recognition. A smile touched her lips as she led her son Liam toward the booth.

Blair smiled back, admiring Natalie's light green summer dress. It complemented her fiery hair to perfection. Somehow, despite the heat, her porcelain skin remained unmarred by the sun. She was a beautiful woman, yet Blair had always suspected there was a sadness behind her fierce personality.

"Wow, this is a surprise, Blair. How are you?"

"I'm doing the best I can. And you?"

She grinned and gazed down at her son. "Liam and I are just here for some lunch. He was supposed to be spending the week with his dad, but an important case made that impossible."

Blair nodded in understanding. John McBain, Natalie's son's dad, was Llanview's commissioner. A great cop—driven, instinctive and married to the job. The case Natalie mentioned was the reason Tea had canceled their lunch plans. "Would you and your handsome date like to join me for lunch?"

"What do you say, Liam?"

The little boy narrowed his clear blue eyes. The dark lashes were so long they nearly touched his cheeks. "You have pretty yellow hair, so we can eat lunch with you today."

"I'd be honored," Blair told him as they slid into the booth.

After settling on the omelet, she watched as Natalie ordered the fruit platter for herself and the French toast for Liam. Once the waitress disappeared, she sat back. She was totally at a loss for words. Natalie pulled a tablet from her oversize bag and handed it to her son. "Just until the food arrives."

"All right, Mommy."

She turned her attention to Blair, and the question in her eyes was evident. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything. It's just that I don't think you and I have said more than five words to each other in the last fifteen years. Why'd you invite me over?"

"Blunt. I like that," she murmured as she felt her cheeks warm. "Honestly? I have no idea. I was supposed to have lunch with Tea, but she canceled. I decided to stay anyway. That's when you showed up."

"Tea? Oh. Right."

"That doesn't sound very nice, Natalie. You have an issue with Tea?"

"Me? Not at all. I barely know her. It's just that I don't understand how you can be . . . besties with your husband's ex-wife." She raked a hand through her flame-red locks. "I can barely stand to be in a room with any of John's exes."

"I'm one of those exes, remember? We were even married for a little while."

"Don't I know it," Natalie replied, her teeth clenching. "But that was different. John was helping you stop Victor from taking your kids."

"True." Despite the two of them not being close, Blair knew that John McBain would always be a sore subject for the mother of his child. It would only seem like needling if she spoke about their profound respect and friendship, one that lasted 'til this day.

No, their marriage had never been a love match. But neither of them had faked a second of caring about one another.

Natalie shrugged. "I just don't understand how you can hang out with a woman who ran roughshod through your life the way Tea did. I mean, I wasn't around when all that was happening, but over the years, I've heard about some of your early battles. The way she tried to take Starr away . . . ."

"She was doing her job."

"Too well from what I've heard. Not only did she marry Todd to assist him in his quest to take Starr, but she also started getting off on it. Rubbing it in your face. Being mean and rude, like you were the one coming after her life when it was the exact opposite. And you were sick for awhile too, right? So you needed help to care for your child. They even used that against you.

"If it were me, I'd punch Tea Delgado in the face every time I saw her. Seriously, Blair. I don't know how you do it. You don't strike me as the 'turn the other cheek type'. Not to get too personal, but can you tell me a little about how you were able to move past all that?"

Blair considered laying bare the last twenty years of her life, complaining of hatred, struggle, and treachery. She could always regale her companion with tales of thrown punches, broken nails, and backsides colliding with hard pavement. Had she felt chatty she might have explained the many twists and turns she traveled on her path toward genuinely caring for Tea Delgado.

Instead of that verbose outburst, she decided that two words would have to be enough to explain it all.

"I won."

"Damn, Blair. I think I like you. Why have we never done this before?"

"I have no idea," she answered thoughtfully as she slid her phone across the table. "Hand me yours so I can put my number in. Would you like to do this again? How about same time next week?"

"I'd like that."

THE END


	2. Chapter 2

HOT LEADS

Chapter Two

Natalie arrived at the Llanview Diner ten minutes early. She made a beeline for the same booth she and Blair shared the previous week. Since Liam was visiting his grandparents and cousins at Llanfair, they would be eating alone that afternoon.

They'd texted a few times during the week. Blair seemed really enthusiastic about getting to know each other. Why had they never had an opportunity to do this sooner? Like years ago? Neither of them knew the answer.

All Natalie knew for sure was that she welcomed any chance to chat with a woman who was not her mother or sister or coworker. Not that she didn't love her family or enjoy her work; she was happy with both aspects of her life. Yet despite the excitement that stirred just beneath the surface, Llanview could be a lonely town. She realized that she had plenty of family members whom she could call upon. But few friends.

Maybe that could change.

Her cell phone vibrated in her tote. Ugh. She didn't have to look to see who the text was from. John McBain had been texting all morning. She'd yet to reply.

Why bother? Different day, same bullshit.

This case is extra important, Natalie.

I'm sorry I can't pick up Liam tonight, Natalie.

Why can't you understand where I'm coming from, Natalie?

Can't you get used to me being a total dick who believes my life is more important than yours, Natalie?

John was never that blunt, of course, but after more than a decade of being left in his dust, holding on to the scraps he'd deigned to leave behind, she knew the damn drill. Seriously, fuck him and his crap.

"Waiting long?"

She jumped a little as Blair breezed in and slid in the booth. Looking cool and chic in a sleek white v-neck and matching pencil skirt, Blair grinned, her cat-like green eyes shining.

"Just got here a few minutes ago."

"Oh, good. Let's order," Blair said.

After the waitress took their orders Blair gazed at Natalie, her expression seemingly uncertain.

"What's the matter?" Natalie demanded. "Is there something in my teeth or something?"

"Oh no. It's just that you seem pensive. On edge. Something bothering you?"

"Am I that obvious?"

Blair grinned. "I have radar for trouble. I guess it's because I've lived enough of my own. Anyway, if you need to talk, I'll listen."

Natalie's lips parted, then she hurriedly closed her mouth. She liked Blair, but she didn't know if she felt comfortable enough with her yet to start sharing intimate details about her life. After all, what did she know about this woman exactly? Other than her habit of marrying Natalie's uncles, wearing expensive white clothing, and being meaner than a rattlesnake when crossed?

Could Blair Manning be trusted?

Almost as if she'd read Natalie's mind, Blair reached across the table and touched the younger woman's hand lightly. "I didn't mean to pry, Natalie. So no worries. But know this. If you do decide to share, no matter what it is, your secrets go no further than this room."

For some reason, Natalie believed her immediately. That was rare. Trust was a big deal for her. Her gut was telling her that the cool blonde with the sassy attitude knew how to keep a secret.

"I'm sleeping with John again," she blurted. "And it's really messed up because I don't know why I'm doing it. It feels almost . . . compulsive. Almost like I have to. I'm not even sure if I'm in love with him anymore. Yet I keep finding myself in his bed."

Natalie didn't know what she expected. But Blair's reaction—the sudden girlish giggle—definitely wasn't something she'd anticipated. She laughed so hard that the waitress who appeared with their coffee chuckled even though she'd been standing several feet away out of earshot. Blair's laugh was infectious.

Natalie couldn't help it. She burst into a giggling fit of her own.

After several moments, Blair raised her hand. "So sorry, Natalie. And please don't hate me for saying this, but since I have history with your man, there's no other way for me to put this. Of course you're still fucking him. Why wouldn't you? Jeez. Even when I couldn't get the man to say more than five words, he more than made up for it in the bedroom. He was maddening, but one of the best lovers I've ever had."

Coming from another woman, that sentiment might have raised Natalie's blood pressure. She wasn't particularly proud of her history of catfights about John. Still she didn't feel like flying across the table and slapping the smile off Blair's face. There were two reasons.

Blair's true love was Natalie's creepy Uncle Todd. Many had tried to part them. Some had even managed to rent space in their hearts. But most of Llanview understood that they belonged together.

The second reason was much simpler. Despite her inability to stay out of his bed, John McBain was not her problem anymore.

"I can't believe I didn't have to pay for that with a headlock," Blair said, reading Natalie's mind again. "The truth hurts, though, and I was willing to accept my licks on that one."

"Yeah," Natalie agreed weakly. "John has a way about him."

"Damn straight. And you're addicted."

"Oh, come on, Blair. I wouldn't go that far—"

"I know a fellow addict when I see one. When it's right, it's right. There's nothing like being in the right man's arms. It's a drug. You get strung out. Makes you forget right from wrong. Makes you do things you wouldn't ordinarily do."

She felt heat blazing in her cheeks as Blair spoke. "Yeah."

"Even when it's bad, even when everything is wrong, you want that feeling. You miss it when it's not there. And when you love him, no other man can ever make you feel the same way."

"Nope."

Blair's eyes narrowed. "And things are pretty bad right now?"

Natalie sighed, surprised by the sting of tears waiting to fall on her cheeks. "We've been through so much together, you know? And usually, most of the time, I feel like I'm the one always doing the heavy lifting. I'm always the one apologizing. I'm always the one to patch things up, even when I feel like he's more at fault. Hell, I'm always the one doing the forgiving.

"But this time is different. I'm finding it hard to forgive him for the last couple of years. But I know I'll have to if I'm going to move on for good."

"Forgive him for what?" Blair asked.

"I'm still angry about how he just picked up and moved to Port Charles like it was nothing. He left on a case, and suddenly, decided to make a life there. Forget about me, Blair. What about his son? What the hell could he have been thinking?"

Blair leaned back against the booth and rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me that there's not something in that damn Port Charles water. Todd lost his mind when he moved there too."

"And how did you manage to forgive him?"

"There was nothing to forgive. We weren't together when he moved away and took up with the other woman."

"Like that matters, Blair? Come on. It had to have been painful."

"It was." She gazed into her coffee mug, her jaw clenching. "I love Todd enough to realize that denying him the experience of loving another is wrong. I pushed him away, but I'm not angry that he found comfort with someone else. We all need love, Natalie."

"Yeah, even psychos like Todd," she murmured.

Blair crossed her arms across her chest.

Natalie grinned. "Sorry."

"Suuure," Blair said, completely unfazed. "But tell me something. Are you more angry about the fact that John left Liam behind—or that John left you behind and took up with that brunette?"


	3. Chapter 3

HOT LEADS

Chapter Three

Natalie's fist slammed on the table, nearly upending her plate in her lap. Rage surged, becoming its own being, taking her to a place she'd visited many times before. She'd visited this humbling space too many damned times. John McBain had always been the man to drive her there.

"Do you want to know what the worst part is, Blair? I mean the _absolutely_ fucking worst part is that I was fooled again. I thought after John found out about Liam being his son that he would change. That he would finally see how lucky he is. That he would finally get his ass in gear so we could be a family. But I was wrong. I'm always wrong about John.

"Why can't I learn, huh? Humiliation after humiliation. Woman after woman that he ran off to save while I waited in the wings hoping for some resolution. No other man has made me feel so . . . so damn low before, ya know? After all these years, I'm starting to wonder if something's wrong with me."

"Nope," Blair said, reaching out to squeeze Natalie's hand. "You're perfect. Beautiful. Loyal. John just likes to play hero—"

"Then why can't he save himself?" Natalie whispered, clasping Blair's hand like it was a life preserver. "He's drinking way too much lately. To be honest, I'm almost glad he doesn't have a lot of time for Liam. He was pretty wasted the last few times I saw him."

"Natalie, you're not worried that he'd do something to harm Liam, are you?"

"Oh no. Of course not. It's just that he's changing, but not for the better. I've pretty much given up hope on he and I making a real go of it. I still want my son to know his father. Between his job and his self-destructive streak, sometimes I think John doesn't plan to hang around much longer . . ."

"Don't say that," Blair gasped.

Natalie gulped back the tears that threatened to pour down her cheeks. She wasn't quite ready to cry in Blair's presence, despite knowing her tears wouldn't be used against her. Besides, it was high time she stopped crying over John McBain.

"Sam McCall—the brunette—isn't the cause of my issues with John. Just like Evangeline Williamson, Marty Saybrooke and Kelly Cramer didn't cause our problems. It's us and how we relate to each other. It's just so toxic."

Blair nodded sagely before setting down her fork and pushing away her plate. "Do you realize that all the women you've named have played a large role in my life as well? Specifically roles in my relationship with Todd, and sometimes, Victor."

"Oh, wow. That's right. Llanview's a small city, but sometimes I forget how small."

"Absolutely tiny when it comes to who knows who and who is sleeping with the man you used to sleep with . . ."

"Yeah." Natalie eyed Blair carefully, perhaps in an attempt to determine why she and a woman who had always been on the periphery of her life felt like such a kindred spirit. "It's a lot different from how I was raised. We were achingly poor and lived in some really terrible neighborhoods, but there was a code. If your sister or best friend dated a guy, he was forever off limits. Girls would lose friends and fistfuls of hair for breaking that code. Something about Llanview has turned me upside down. Since tracking down my family and stolen birthright, I've changed. I've done stuff here that I never would have done before."

"This place'll make you crazy," Blair agreed. "Sometimes I get tired of defending myself, of having to always prove that I deserve love and respect. That I'm not some afterthought, especially when it comes to going up against a so-called good girl."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Most of Llanview's good girls are anything but!" A stab of guilt traveled through her. "Ugh! That was petty, wasn't it? I hate when I do that. I'm totally someone's mom, but sometimes, I might as well still be in high school."

"Good thing being petty is one of my favorite hobbies," Blair said. "If that's the worst thing either of us does today, maybe we'll stay out of trouble."

"But that's just it. Why does it seem like trouble always finds us? We're not bad people—at least I don't think so."

"Being an opinionated, passionate, independent woman is still looked on with suspicion. Any calamities that befall us will usually be thought to be our fault. We had it coming because of a bitchy remark or . . ."

"Or a crazy bitch who wants your man and is willing to do whatever it takes to get him!" Natalie hissed. "Marty was a fucking psycho."

"And a slut," Blair said, her voice just above a whisper as memories decades-past came flooding back. "No one remembers that because of what happened—because of the gang rape. She became sainted in this damn town. But I remember. Oh, I remember watching her trying to sleep with my cousin's husband every chance she got."

Natalie's eyes widened. She leaned forward as the other woman sifted through a painful period of her own life.

Blair's angular jaw tensed, her green eyes darting quickly as she spoke. "No one believed me because I'd made some bad choices. In a lot of ways, Marty and I were alike, but we were treated differently because she put on a stoic face and peasant blouses. I preferred to wear a smirk and tight dresses. I was demonized for it."

"Yeah, but come on, Blair. Hooking up with Todd couldn't have done much to help your reputation around this town."

"My reputation was already in the toilet. I was pretty _messy_ back in the day." Blair paused and clasped her manicured fingers together. Staring boldly, she didn't mince words. "I'd come to this town gunning for Dorian because I felt thrown away like garbage. I had nothing save for my looks and a burning ambition. I used both to get ahead. One of the first things I did was marry your grandpa Asa for his money.

"I'm not proud of that today, but that's where my head was at back then. I needed security so badly. I didn't trust love even though I craved it even more than money. Every time I reached for it, for love, things never worked out. Seeking fortune seemed a better bet at the time. And I stood less of a chance of getting hurt."

Natalie snatched her hand away from Blair's. She couldn't help herself. She'd heard stories about how the blonde mercenary had targeted her family in the past. Yet hearing Blair discuss her sins so plainly made it more real somehow. "Every once in a while, Grandpa would go on a rant about you."

Blair chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Asa and I had a long history. If I wasn't gunning for him or trying to get Cord, I helped Max with planning and scamming on the Bukes."

"That's right. You were with Max Holden off and on for years."

"More off than on," Blair admitted, her lips thinning. "He was my first love. But he only ever used me. I got under your uncle so that I could get _over_ Max Holden. I even ran the same playbook I used for Asa. Faked a pregnancy so I could get access to the good life. Believe me I did not plan on falling in love with Todd Manning."

"Could you imagine how much simpler it would be if we could actually plan who we fell in love with?" Natalie asked wistfully.

"Simpler, sure," Blair agreed. "But it's the complications that make life exciting, isn't it?"


End file.
